Yamaha DJX-2 keyboard: This dark horse KICKS!

[@sauermusicDE]

Yamaha needs to release a modern DJX-III version! Like if you agree.

[@atmeltronic128]

Or a DAW version.

[@dredrob]

Yes sir

[@tomschaffner9704]

I have the 2 . Bring on the 3. New music will come.

[@tomschaffner9704]

I have a cvp409 tyros5. Djx2. I’m happy.😄😄

[@standardissue69]

Amen to that. Now is the time. Release The Kraken!!!

[@kirbyhamiltonjr.-motivatet8835]

I love mine and still do. I've had it for almost 20 years and use it in the studio, classroom, and on stage! I have videos on Facebook performing Smooth Jazz and Funk jams for Watch Parties when the pandemic first started.

[@gearfacts]

Yeah it's a good funk machine ;)

[@mindalteringfx316]

That was my first keyboard. I even bought it again a couple years ago. 90’s sounds for days haha love it

[@gearfacts]

Classic days :)

[@johnmacarthur6022]

I bought this for my daughter over 15 years ago and let me just tell you… it's not for kids. I used this with my CD turntables to add some spice. This thing is awesome!

[@gearfacts]

Agree 100%. Everyone can get something out of this great keyboard :)

[@Saturday_Pansy]

I’ve been looking for one since 2006-7. My roommate had one back then. Surprisingly hard to find nowadays.

[@gearfacts]

VERY hard to find, yep. I'd like to try it again too.

[@heroknaderi]

Wow this on is truly a workhorse. And with it having bult in speakers this makes it very portable. this can be so fun to play with.

[@RoomAtTheTopStudio]

I've got the original DJX and the DJX-2. I won't get rid of either. I've not used the DJX-2 for a while now. Every so often I take them out and using one on a track then put it back in storage. Very good for certain types of old school beats and sounds. The effects are very usable on both of them too.

[@gearfacts]

My thoughts exactly.

[@MiSoRetro.]

Still have this keyboard Works!

[@antonhoward7968]

I've got a Mk1 and a Mk2, I love these things.

[@boomcat3722]

6 seconds of heaven! Best used as a sampler. Made incredible technical boom bap type hip hop beats on this. My first key board and at $250 bucks. I miss you everyday. I had to put her to rest after all the sample pads wore out. I can still hear your fat hip hop high hats, kicks and snares.

[@kyatisback12]

Such a nice machine. Started making music with this in 2003.

[@gearfacts]

Never boring, that's what I love about it :)

[@Niko-ds6wi]

I had one the year Yamaha released it, it was still in the form of a box in the same way. a children's toy of course, but the sound of the built-in acoustics is excellent dense fat

[@johnnormancarson4801]

I am currently busking with this model in N.Z. A great Groovebox.

[@gearfacts]

NZ! One of my fave land masses :) Hope you can post a video of you busking

[@johnduffy7108]

Luv it i still have my DJX...

[@gearfacts]

Love that original DJX, and I still think it'd be my first choice of the three. They all have very different vibes though.

[@EBTheOriginalMaster]

My fellow subscriber KeyboardKrazy49 did a whole video showcasing the 203 voices, 70 patterns, and a small tutorial of this keyboard a few months back.

[@gearfacts]

Gotta see that, thanks EB

[@tomschaffner9704]

Have one. Stay tuned.🎉🎉🎉

[@ninji5226]

I think where it fell short is that it tried to be too much without really being good at anything, fun yes, but not really good. I made some cool stuff, even with limited musical ability, and it actually taught me a lot about building a song piece by piece but most people I knew that were musician's seen it as a bit gimmicky (they always said the first was better). Someone with musical skill could have taken this far beyond what I did, but that same person could take a proper workstation way beyond that so it was a hard sell to most. I still had fun with it though.

[@gearfacts]

Yeah I think that's a really relevant point about these kinds of keyboards. They're a piece of musical history, like a summary of the time. They can't do everything, not even close, but it's all about the fun and if fun is what they give then it's a worthwhile experience :) Thanks for the comment

[@leewightman8619]

I had one but got rid of it and got another DJ x one .I might get another one cause they look pretty cool

[@gearfacts]

Yeah they're fun, I do like the first version better though.

[@tomrishel]

I have the DJX 1. I’ve been looking for this one for a while. Although the DJX 1 is a better board overall, seems some crazier/more extreme sounds and FX can be had from the 2, no?

[@gearfacts]

Yep, that's the exact way I see it :)

[@kingjellybeans7823]

DJX 1 is a much better machine in my own opinion. I think they put too much gimmicks in this although saying that at the same time it still is a killer Machine. I suppose each to their own in regards to which style you like but my personal advice is that if you had the choice to get one of the two then go for the DJX 1

[@josephkeck4752]

Great work...glynn, what is your recording setup?? These arranger s really come through my smartphone

[@gearfacts]

It's disappointingly simple: I take a wire from the headphone socket and plug it into the side of my panasonic camera :)

[@hippiemajors5491]

@@gearfacts that's really all you do?!!!

[@gearfacts]

@@hippiemajors5491 actually not quite, there’s one other thing - you need one of those splitters that allows you to connect two pairs of headphones to one device. Then you can have a stereo line to the camera or other recording device, and still be able to plug in some headphones so you can hear what you’re playing.

[@d44u]

I got the exact same keyboard! Nice!

[@gearfacts]

I love it!

[@pianokeyjoe]

Again my friend, great keyboard and sounds! I still have mine! The only complaint I have with these keyboards made in the late 1980s early 1990s, is the all plastic keybeds! Casio at least made theirs a bit stronger and of a more stable design(plastic key Hook, latches to plastic keybed), and Yamaha for some very odd reason made their beds to have the key Hooks return and latch to the RUBBER strip of the rubber dome switches, in slits inbetween the keys! It is insane! So alot of the keys do not trigger fully or at all when the rubber breaks at the key hooks or the keyboard gets a little warped from age and heat. SO again... only complaint, is the keybeds for these Yamahas but other than that, very dreamy tech for the time and even today very usable as long as your keybed still works and better yet, the instruments has MIDI IN!!

[@gearfacts]

I agree. Even now I often find the quality of the keyboard bed is completely out of line with the overall quality of the keyboard. In all brands. The recent PSR-E373 keybed was exquisite, yet the more expensive CT-X5000 was horrible. Then you have the cheap CT-S keyboard from Casio and they have really nice keybeds! It's all over the place...

[@pianokeyjoe]

@@gearfacts YES! AMEN! TESTIFY! Its a strange world eh?

[@alek8410]

Hi Can I use this keyboard YAMAHA DJX 2 like MIDI and it is compatible with the AKAI MPC LIVE II professional. Possible is work together ?

[@alek8410]

Siemasz Mordko. Mam pytanie, Będziesz wiedział. Bo Twoja Mama ma w szkole stołówkę i z pewnością Wie. Chodzi o to, że kiedyś korzystałem z Miejskiego ośrodkia Pomocy i teraz również, ale kiedyś Twoja Mama miała podpisaną umowę z OPS i miałem u Was bezpłatne obiady, które naprawdę są świetnej jakości, na samą myśl o zupkach z byłej dziesiątki robię się głodny. Dlatego nie wiem czy to aktualne, bo chyba przez jakiś czas nie było. Pewnie mnie pamięta, o kulach przychodziłem wdzięczny za każdy posiłek. Zawsze smaczny, nigdy nie został po mnie nawet okruch na talerzu. Zapytaj jak możesz.

[@alek8410]

ONE LOVE

[@gearfacts]

They should work together :) MIDI

[@angelserrano3655]

En mi opinión estos aparatos ganan mucho cuando son considerados como un único instrumento en vez de usarlos como un "all in one". Así que, gracias por tu video. Saludos desde Madrid.

[@gearfacts]

Estoy de acuerdo contigo. Tiene que ser parte de un gran arreglo.

[@leewightman8619]

It would be good if it had the six channels to record on like the first DJ x

[@kingjellybeans7823]

I have one but much prefer the DJX 1. Also had the box version of this this which they merged with the DJX 2. Although watching the video it reminds me of the great sounds in it. Still prefer DJX 1 though

[@gearfacts]

Yep I prefer DJX1, DJX2B, and DJX2 in that order :)

[@jmd76family]

Would you say the sounds are better than original djx? I know midi doesnt compare to original but is it worth it for sound?

[@gearfacts]

I think the sounds are *slightly* better on the DJX2, but the original DJX is overall a better and more versatile keyboard. Better sampling, much easier to create a song on it.

[@alexanderwilliams1731]

Cool!!!!

[@yorch5d]

I tried to revive it and use it as Midi controller. I bought the midi to usb cable. Then I connected in-ou out-in, but nothing happened. I was like 4 hours figuring out, tried on Ableton. I even used MidiOx. No signal on the computer.

[@gearfacts]

Ouch, yeah midi can be like that.

[@tmilker]

It's criminal: The DJX-II and DJX-IIB don't have any MIDI output except clock and bulk dump.

[@yorch5d]

​@@tmilker yeah, I tried like maniac to make it work until I read somewhere that. I wish there could be any way to emulate or something that feature or uncap. Don't know. I just wanted to revive somehow this old keyboard. But well, Arturia Minilab MK2, here I come!

[@tmilker]

​@@yorch5d Yeah, I've been looking at the schematic in the service manual and I think you'd need to dump the ROM and then hack it. I imagine it's all in there, just turned off and it just needs to be turned back on. Also, digging around on the Internet, the Yamaha EZ-AG(midi guitar) uses the same CPU and Tone Generator as the DJX-II/DJX-IIB and I happen to have both. Maybe I can find something in their schematics.

[@yorch5d]

@@tmilker that sounds like you have some sick hacking skills tho.

[@aldeanblair9727]

Sweet

[@gearfacts]

Ja!

[@ilovekeyboards7830]

Gearfacts can i pick the sounds I want to hear on the casio lk 220

[@gearfacts]

yep of course

[@davidmartin123]

DZihan & Kamien in a box

[@YannisAggelakos]

Somebody tell Yamaha that if they released a VST DJX (with all the style of I and II, as well as programming capabilities) it would be a cash machine for them

[@gearfacts]

Yes! I can think of at least 5 old instruments that could be easily re-invented and out-perform what's around today in their categories! Frustrating, right?

[@YannisAggelakos]

@@gearfacts I mean Roland and Korg have kicked Yamaha's ass on the VSTis. What are they waiting?

[@darrygswa]

I have this oldskool keyboards I wiil never let this go either, because its hard two find on ebay. Checkout the male & female sounds voices

[@gearfacts]

Yep getting rare

[@ger-lz4mj]

Does this need batteries too

[@gearfacts]

It can run on batteries, I think it's 6xD size.

[@ger-lz4mj]

@@gearfacts Thank you

[@Hwral]

It’s funny, but instead of saying it’s hideous to look at, maybe it looks awesome and far out just the same. Such a wonderful mess! It’s something else. (Today I bought one for €5 and hope it still works alright).

[@gearfacts]

"Wonderful mess", yes let's go with that! Amazing deal you got there if it works

[@Hwral]

@@gearfacts It had been lying in someone’s attic for many years and it was very dusty, but yeah, it still works!

[@Hwral]

And may I say that the build quality of the keybed is pretty sub standard. Obviously it was meant for triggering, but not really for playing. If you want to play to patterns simultaneously, best hook it up with another keyboard with decent key action. It really enhances the experience.

[@thelastgatoo3089]

✅ Year release¡???

[@gearfacts]

I think it was 1997

[@doordedeur]

The DJX I is more like a musical keyboard, with velocity sensitive keys and some 'normal' music styles. The DJX II misses the velocity sensitive keys and is more like a pattern player. The sounds in the DJX II aren't better than those in the DJX I; both are derived from the PSR-225.

[@rthua5718]

I just got one for 30 bucks 1 thing don’t work but overall this thing kicks like a horse!

[@gearfacts]

Oh yeah there is way more than 30 bucks worth of usable/awesome sounds there! Good deal :)

[@rthua5718]

@@gearfacts the silver effects little handle don’t work . I’m gonna try to get it fixed

[@gearfacts]

@@rthua5718 yeah it’s pretty essential for the full djx experience

[@aseomg]

Hideous to look at? If I see someone busking with this keyboard while wearing sunglasses, then I’ll know why.

[@ilovekeyboards7830]

Gearfacts hear are the sounds I like to hear grand piano mellow piano strings piano honky tonk harpsichord Electric piano clean e piano clavi 1 celesta1 music box 1 xylophone Soft vibraphone 1 tubular bell Draw bar organ 1 drawbar organ 2 Church organ 1 electric organ 1 jazz organ 1 rock organ 1 reed organ According 1 bandoneon 1 harmonica 1 jazz guitar Clean guitar 1 power dist gt Acoustic bass picked bass slap bass Trance bass violin viola cello pizzicato strings harp 1 strings slow strings octave strings strings sfz synth strings 1 synth strings 2 synth strings 3 voice doo orchestra hit 1 trumpet trombone tuba French horn brass brass section 1 brass section 2 brass section 3 brass sfz Brass & strings synth brass 1 synth brass 2 mellow brass soprano sax 1 Alto sax 1 tenor sax bassoon oboe Piccolo flute 1 pure flute bottle blow 1 shakuhachi solo oboe There's a lot of sounds in synth lead list you can pick the sounds In synth lead fantasy 1 warm pad warm vox Poly synth 1 poly saw glass pad Halo pad rain drop soundtrack 1 Atmosphere goblin echo pad Space pad new age pad horn pad Heaven square pad sweep pad Space voice echo drop poly drop Sitar 1 shamisen koto shanai er hu1 Yang qin 1 di zi suo na sitar pad Xiao after that sound you can pick what you like from there That's all of the sounds I like to hear Don't forget to add this rhythm rock ballad 2 that's all I want to hear

[@alexanderwilliams1731]

I dislike the dark color’s though

[@gearfacts]

It's hideous.

[@nicolea2839]

@@gearfacts I think it looks cool! Kinda 80’s rock band-ish

[@ilovekeyboards7830]

Gearfacts i don't like the yamaha djx 2 keyboard i just don't care about the look of it

[@gearfacts]

I agree, it's a real ugly one.